Well... since you are all so intrigued by my new feet, I shall tell you:They are made by the esteemed Dr Marten and bought for less on ebay. They are half of red leather and half of maroon corduroy with little leather rolled-up dufflecoat buttons along the side. They are extremely comfortable and are a belated birthday gift from Tui to me :)Happy week to you all x

Hi Rima, I love the new boots and your new header. Gouache is a lovely medium but very different from other watercolours.You may like to look at the work of Peter Malone http://www.theartworksinc.com/face/pmface.htmhe gradually builds up layers of paint, firstly painted very flat and then allowed to dry. The next tone is applied by using a dry brush to produce a stiple effect, this gives the tonal shading.You will find your own method, there are no rules!

hello sweet one - i knew everyone would be asking about the boots, that is what happens when one proudly shows them off! my own new boots FINALLY arrived today, after the first pair were stolen from my porch (black round toed cowboy boots with red flowers)...anxiously watching for the postman here, today was a national holiday, for those red rooftops! xoxoxo

love how things are evolving there in your gypsy abode. we gals just know how to make a nest, make a home, dont we? its more than the pillows and blankets and bits of beauty and comfort...its what fills the space when our souls steep for awhile.and those boots? they were made for walkin', or so goes the song!!

Oh so beautiful the whole lot! red warming boots, berries for the birds and a gypsy wagon for the musician and his muse. The book finally arrived and it will be on its way to you this week. The weather is turning here and I heart me some warm boots to walk the dogs by Tryon Creek...

I have been trying to leave a comment here for several posts...seems blogger does not like me...I shall not take it personally, but I shall soldier on.I love you blogs new hat, and the fact that you use photoshop to enhance :)Your Doc Marten's are beautiful. My Husband still has his Doc Martens that he bought in the 70's...mine have mysteriously disappeared :(Your red is so cozy in your travel home.

Rima: Thanks for stopping by Owl's Cabinet and leading me back here. Not only is the blog delightful, but fits perfectly into my catalogue of Wunderkammern.

My family were originally from Scotland (Macdonalds of the Isles, I think), through Nova Scotia, ending up in Eastern California. My great grandfather's name (I'm not making this up) was Angus Campbell McDonald. No wonder I'm conciliatory by nature!

At any rate, I look forward to spending time in the Hermitage. Also: the post on red provided a great way to begin a morning on an otherwise gloomy day.

I adore your boots!Ah boots. Yes, we've had a week of new boots here too. (Five pairs exactly). Must be the time of year. Aaand, by coincidence(!) one of those pairs of boots was Finn's first pair of Docs. Feels like a rite of passage to me! She is walking on air...

Love those red boots! One artist that had quite a bit to say about using gouache paint is Marie Angel, Her book "Painting for Calligraphers" is one that I have found very educational. (Not that you need any hints about being an artist from me, your artwork is splendiferous)

Happy recent birthday, dear Rima! Red is my favorite color of all :) And so lucky are we that it is fall... The images of your home are especially a comfort to me, I so love the coziness.

Ahh guache. In art school in the 80's before the whole computer thing took over, we did lettering with guache. Over and over and over and over and over... sigh! I can't wait to practice with it m'self, for I LOVE your new "hat"!!

About Me

Rima Staines is an artist using paint, wood, word, music, animation, clock-making, puppetry & story to attempt to build a gate through the hedge that grows along the boundary between this world & that. Her gate-building has been a lifelong pursuit, & she hopes to have perhaps propped aside even one spiked loop of bramble (leaving a chink just big enough for a mud-kneeling, trusting eye to glimpse the beauty there beyond), before she goes through herself.

Always stubborn about living the things that make her heart sing, Rima lives with her partner Tom and their young son in Hedgespoken - an offgrid home and travelling theatre built on a vintage Bedford RL truck.

Rima’s inspirations include the world & language of folktale; faces of people who pass her on the street; folk music & art of Old Europe & beyond; peasant & nomadic living; magics of every feather; wilderness & plant-lore; the margins of thought, experience, community & spirituality; & the beauty in otherness.

Crumbs fall from Rima’s threadbare coat pockets as she travels, & can be found collected here, where you may join the caravan.